Steve-O recently addressed the recent controversy surrounding his comments about ICE and immigration during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, explaining that his statements were taken completely out of context and meant sarcastically.
The controversy began after a clip from Steve-O’s podcast with comedian Harland Williams went viral. In the episode, Steve-O made what he described as “the most patently absurd comment” he had ever made on his podcast, stating that the majority of immigrants are m**derers. The clip circulated widely online, making it appear he was serious.
“I could not be more the opposite of that,” Steve-O told Joe Rogan, emphasizing that he was being deliberately sarcastic during the conversation with Williams. He explained that Williams is known for absurdist humor, and they were playing off each other in that comedic space.
“I could not have been more like… I could not have been less serious. It was the most absurd deliberately sarcastic thing I’d ever said.”
When the clip went viral, Steve-O said he “open up my phone and it’s like basically [comments] like rot in h*ll.” He was surprised that people took the comment literally, despite his intention being obvious absurdism. “Even though you cut to Harland Williams, it genuinely looks like I wasn’t kidding,” he acknowledged.
Steve-O attempted to clarify his position by posting on Instagram. “I said I was so surprised to believe that this absurd comment that I made was like taken seriously… I can’t believe I’m going to have to do this, but for the record, you know less than 0.1% of the population is ever going to commit m*rder. Of course the majority of no group of people is going to commit m*rder.”
However, his clarification created additional problems. In his statement, he added, “But if you want to know how I actually feel, if there’s a group of people that’s more likely to m*rder someone, it’s ICE agents.” This second comment sparked backlash from the opposite side of the political spectrum.
Reflecting on the situation with Rogan, Steve-O admitted, “My sister is my voice of reason. She like I was like, ‘Hey, what do you think about this?’ and she like made one small tweak. She’s like, ‘Go for it.’ I just posted that. I don’t even mind, you know. I feel like if people are going to h*te me, let them h*te me for like how I actually feel.”
Despite standing by his right to express his views, Steve-O expressed regret about how he handled the situation overall. “If I’m honest, I regret all of it,” he told Rogan. “I could have worded my clarification in a way that made a lot more sense. It bothered me so much to be so badly misunderstood.”
Steve-O explained that the timing of the controversy was particularly difficult because it came right after he won a million dollars for charity on a MrBeast competition and just before the announcement of a new Jacka*s movie. He had spent years working on his reputation and felt he had made real progress, only to be derailed by what he considered a complete misunderstanding of obvious satire.
